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Riot Games promotes John Needham to President, Esports
After growing LoL Esports into the world’s largest esport, Needham steps up to unify, introduce, and evolve Riot Games’ esports titles globally
Riot Games announced the promotion of esports and gaming executive John Needham to the role of President, Esports. In this elevated position within Riot Games, Needham will lead the organization under which all of Riot’s esports titles and operations will now be unified.
After two-plus years as Riot’s Global Head of Esports following his previous roles as Managing Director of Europe and Head of the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), Needham will helm the world’s most successful and sustainable collection of esports.
“As we head into 2022, we’re placing our biggest bets yet on esports to deliver the most connected, immersive experiences for the millions of players worldwide who love our games,” said Nicolo Laurent, CEO of Riot Games. “John Needham’s leadership and vision for our esports business has helped us grow our fandom exponentially over the past few years. It’s why I’m excited to formalize a major division at Riot Games, with John reporting directly into me, to support and drive our big, bold swings that make it even better to be a player.”
The promotion elevates Needham to be one of the senior most executives within Riot Games, now reporting into Laurent along with Riot’s four other presidents: Shauna Spenley, President, Entertainment; Scott Gelb, President, Games; Ryan Crosby, President, Publishing; and Dylan Jadeja, President, Enterprise.
Within Needham’s governance will be 11-year old industry pioneer League of Legends Esports (LoL Esports), the rising FPS esport VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), Wild Rift Esports (which concludes its first global tournament on Sunday), and multiple other games under a new Organized Play umbrella at Riot Games (Teamfight Tactics, aka TFT; Legends of Runeterra, aka LoR; and future games).
“Riot Games has led the explosive growth of esports over the past decade, and I’m proud to be part of the team charged with establishing our portfolio as a foundation for the future of sports,” said Needham. “Esports embodies Riot’s mission to inspire the most meaningful and lasting player experiences.
“By further professionalizing our sports, innovating and focusing on sustainability and competitive integrity, and making esports at Riot Games inclusive to all, we will thrive together with new and existing fans. We also will create additional value for our partners and plan to set the highest player-driven standards for competitive gaming well into the next decade.”
The new Riot Games esports structure being established by Needham has been informed by a combination of traditional sports leagues and governing bodies as well as Riot’s company-wide goal to innovate around and ultimately define the future of gaming. Needham plans to bring a new strategic and operational focus across the multiple sports and leagues, extend Riot’s esports’ impact into complementary entertainment and gaming categories, and create and shape viewing and content platforms for the future growth of its esports audience.
To that end, Needham recently green-lit a multi-million initiative known as Project Stryker, an innovative initiative to increase capacity of Riot’s esports content and events with a centralized broadcast model anchored by Remote Broadcast Centers (RBCs) strategically located around the world. Three years in the making, these RBCs will increase capacity for Riot Esports content and events while lowering operating costs, ensuring top-tier quality and consistency across all esports productions, and built for scale as the volume of Riot’s live esports broadcasts continues to grow. The first center will come online in Dublin, Ireland, in early 2022.
To also help him achieve Riot Games esports’ mission to bring joy to billions of fans around the world, Needham recently promoted several key executives to new positions and has begun a search for a new Global Head of Organized Play:
- Whalen Rozelle to Head of Global Esports Operations*;
- Naz Aletaha to Global Head of LoL Esports;
- Leo Faria to Global Head of Wild Rift Esports.
*Rozelle will maintain his role overseeing the VALORANT Champions Tour until a replacement is identified and hired
Riot Games’ esports, with 2021 Worlds behind it and the inaugural VALORANT Champions set to kick off in Berlin in December, has seen growing audience demand as well as the need to establish an umbrella structure for brands eager to tap into this rapidly growing global sports category. To date, Riot’s global esports partner roster includes Mastercard, Verizon, Mercedes-Benz, Bose, Unilever, Red Bull, Spotify, Bose, Louis Vuitton, YouTube, Twitch, Cisco, Amazon, Coca-Cola, and State Farm. Red Bull, Verizon and SecretLab are among the first global partners to support multiple titles or events within Riot’s esports portfolio, an opportunity that will be more readily available in the years ahead.
Biography
John Needham serves as the President, Esports at Riot Games, overseeing League of Legends Esports, VALORANT Champions Tour and Wild Rift Esports global international events and driving the overall vision for esports at Riot Games worldwide. John is responsible for shaping and defining an accessible, modern sports entertainment property for a multi-generational fanbase, while creating a strong sustainable business ecosystem that attracts top-tier sponsors and investors.
Under his leadership, the sport of League of Legends has experienced rapid maturation with continued investment in infrastructure and broadcast capabilities needed for long-term growth, digital products, and measurement standards (e.g. AMA). LoL Esports’ two major international events — The World Championship and Mid-Season Invitational — have hit record viewership and seen incredible growth in fan engagement and value, with some of the most recognizable global brands signing partnerships.
Needham joined Riot in 2017 as the Managing Director of Europe and North America. During his time in that position, he led the rebranding of the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), which included the move to a long-term partnership model with 10 teams and an influx of new partnerships including Kia, Logitech, Red Bull, and Foot Locker.
Needham is an accomplished senior-level executive with a demonstrated history of results. He has developed high-performing teams, departments, and studios through his ability to communicate, motivate, and align teams from across different regions and cultures.
Prior to Riot, John served as Partner, Microsoft where he worked on Hololens experiences, 3DCreation, Microsoft Casual Games, and Age of Empires. He previously served as Microsoft’s Studio Head of Lionhead where he transitioned Lionhead from a traditional console developer to a games-as-a-service studio. In that role, he also launched Fable Anniversary, Warface, and Quantum Break. John also has held leadership positions at Cryptic Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Telemundo, Gazillion Entertainment, and Sony Online Entertainment.
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The Canadian iGaming market has evolved from an emerging opportunity into one of the most competitive and innovative digital gaming arenas worldwide. Ontario’s regulated framework has paved the way for rapid expansion, attracting established international operators alongside ambitious newcomers that are carving out share through brand differentiation and data-driven acquisition.
Methodology: How Growth Was Measured
To understand which casino brands are gaining momentum and why, the award-winning Mr. Gamble Casino Trends Meter—a proprietary performance index powered by Semrush, Ahrefs, in-house click tracking, market benchmarks, and predictive analytics—analyzed year-over-year (YoY) performance from January–June 2024 versus January–June 2025. The results point to a vibrant, fiercely competitive landscape where execution, trust, and experience are the real drivers of sustained growth.
Brands Showing Standout Growth in 2025
Strong outperformance highlights different paths to scale
Wild Tokyo posted an extraordinary +134% YoY, showing how bold branding, a distinctive identity, and targeted acquisition can resonate with players seeking unique experiences. Clean yet edgy design, paired with robust SEO execution and engagement programs, helped the brand cut through a crowded market.
LuckyDays delivered +110% YoY by striking a balance between simplicity and substance. A minimalistic UX, a vast game library, and strong affiliate relationships have positioned it as a trusted destination for Canadian players.
BetVictor, a legacy operator with deep roots, recorded +107% YoY. Its evolution from traditional bookmaker to diversified iGaming powerhouse underscores how credibility and adaptability can translate into modern growth.
Agile mid-tier brands are also accelerating: SlotsMagic at +94% and Betibet at +88% demonstrate how focused SEO, analytics-led decision making, and smart promotional strategy can punch above weight.
Crypto-forward momentum and broader market depth
The joint rise of BetFury and SmokAce—both at +74%—signals growing acceptance of crypto and blockchain-based gaming among Canadian users, driven by transparency, fast payments, and a tech-forward ethos.
Meanwhile, Paripesa, Mond, and ComeOn maintained robust double-digit YoY growth, underscoring the market’s depth and diversity beyond a handful of headline names.
Market Maturity: Compliance, Trust, and UX Win
As more provinces explore regulated frameworks modeled on Ontario, competition is intensifying. The brands pulling ahead are those investing in compliance, transparency, and player satisfaction—prioritizing product quality and retention over short-term promotions.
“Players are becoming more selective, more informed, and more focused on trust,” says Paul Puolakka, CMO at Mr. Gamble. “We’re seeing a clear shift toward quality brands that prioritize experience, safety, and innovation—the ones achieving real, sustained growth.”
Puolakka adds: “Data doesn’t just tell us who’s growing—it shows us why. The operators succeeding in Canada are those that deeply understand their audience, use insights effectively, and build long-term value instead of chasing short-term hype.”
Trends Shaping the Next Phase of iGaming in Canada
- Branding + data-led acquisition let emerging brands challenge incumbents more effectively than ever.
- Crypto-friendly casinos are moving from niche to mainstream consideration for Canadian users.
- SEO, content strategy, and affiliate partnerships remain reliable, capital-efficient growth levers.
- Compliance, transparency, and UX are central to sustainable market share gains.
Looking Ahead
The fastest-growing casino brands capture more than impressive statistics—they reflect a market in transformation. With Wild Tokyo setting creative benchmarks and veterans like BetVictor and ComeOn proving that brand equity still matters, Canada’s iGaming sector is entering a phase defined by intelligent growth, regulatory maturity, and player empowerment.
As the industry continues to evolve, the Mr. Gamble Casino Trends Meter remains a useful compass for players, affiliates, and operators navigating this fast-changing landscape.
The post Canadian iGaming Growth Trends 2025: Data, Strategy, and the Brands Defining the Market appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Ezugi, an innovative live dealer casino supplier known for pushing the boundaries of live gaming, retention, and distribution solutions, is proud to announce a new partnership with PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site.
Through this partnership, PokerStars’ players in the UK and Ontario will gain access to Ezugi’s standout portfolio, including Revolution Roulette, Ultimate Roulette, Unlimited Blackjack and Lucky 7 online casino games.
PokerStars, launched in 2001, is one of the world’s leading online poker and casino brands and operates as part of Flutter Entertainment. It has grown to become the largest poker site globally, offering the widest selection of online games and hosting prestigious live tournaments.
Formed in 2012, Ezugi is a global live casino provider with a focus on meeting operator and player needs with best-of-breed localised content. The Ezugi games portfolio includes a wide range of live dealer games, many of which are unique. Ezugi became part of Evolution in 2018 and continues to build on its reputation for providing unique and innovative games and solutions for online casino and retail betting shop operators.
Gilad Ben-Ami, Chief Executive Officer at Ezugi, said: “PokerStars’ players already enjoy a wide range of live casino and online slot games from Evolution brands such as Evolution, NetEnt, Red Tiger and Big Time Gaming. Now Ezugi is delighted and honoured to add even more choice for PokerStars’ players with our own innovative games.”
Ben-Ami continued: “The release of Ezugi games to PokerStars clearly demonstrates the rich variety and innovative features of the Ezugi games portfolio. Ultimate Roulette is a unique multiplier Roulette that blends circus-themed fun and TV game show excitement; Revolution Roulette puts a unique spin on classic Roulette by adding special multiplier pockets to the wheel; Unlimited Blackjack allows an unlimited number of players to play at the table, while also featuring Auto-Split functionality and a choice of four side bets – Perfect Pairs, 21+3, Perfect 11 and Ten20; and Lucky 7 is a very popular game with its origins in the Indian subcontinent – a fast-paced, simple and exciting Hi-Lo card game.”
Ben-Ami concluded: “We are confident that PokerStars’ players will love playing these games and we look forward to adding more Ezugi titles for them in the future.”
The post Ezugi partners with PokerStars to further extend live casino game choice for players appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
After A Review Of Canada’s Gambling Landscape, RoboCat Casino Was Awarded The “Best Online Casino In Canada 2025” Based On 8,000+ Games, Responsible Gambling and Fast Payouts
Vancouver, Sept. 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — 
RoboCat Casino, an award-winning online casino with presence on Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA and LATAM, was recently awarded the title of “Best Online Casino in Canada 2025” after a comprehensive review of the online gambling industry in the country, performed by experienced iGaming specialists.
New players can take advantage of RoboCat Casino’s welcome bonus by joining their platform today:
CLAIM YOUR WELCOME BONUS AND PLAY 8,000+ GAMES AT ROBOCAT CASINO
RoboCat currently offers the biggest welcome bonus, because new players can get 100% extra on their first deposit + 200 Free Spins + a surprise bonus (more free spins, free money, cashback, amongst other possible rewards).
In addition, the Canadian online casino also offers over 8,000 real money games from the best providers in the world, putting the best online slots, blackjack, poker, baccarat, craps, crash, plinko, live dealer, lotto and bingo games at the disposal of online players and bettors in Canada.
“The mission of our team is to help players find the best sites for gambling online so they can enjoy an exciting, rewarding and safe online gaming experience” – “… and we found that RoboCat is on top of all the other online casinos in Canada, because it delivers more value in all the areas that matter for online players and bettors”.
A Comprehensive Review Focused on the Player
The team that performed the review and research revealed that they focused it on the player, hence they targeted the following areas:
- License
- Fairness
- Quality of Games
- Quality of Bonuses and Promotions
- Payment Methods and Banking Experience
- Online Security
- Mobile Experience
- Quality of Sportsbook
- KYC
- Limits for Deposits and Withdrawals
- Customer Support Service
The team used these key elements to develop the criteria for selecting, reviewing, and comparing the top online casinos in Canada, ultimately choosing RoboCat Casino as the best real money gambling platform for 2025.
The team explained that RoboCat was named ‘Best Online Casino in Canada 2025’ due to its outstanding performance across all evaluated criteria.
“RoboCat offers over 8,000 games from nearly 100 top-class providers, which is the largest library of real money games in Canada nowadays” – “offering such an outstanding number of high-quality games allows RoboCat to bring its customers a significantly better online gaming experience, especially for online slots players”.
“Regarding bonuses, RoboCat Casino is the most generous platform in Canada because it offers a big welcome bonus, plenty of weekly and weekend reload bonuses which reward players with free money and free spins, extra rewards of free spins, cashback, rakeback, amongst other benefits that other Canadian online casinos fail to deliver”.
The team shared their comments for all the evaluated criteria regarding RoboCat, offering a complete overview on why they elected this brand as the best platform for real money gambling in Canada:
- License: License issued by the Offshore Finance Authority of The State of Anjouan
- Fairness: Audited by independent third-party auditing firms
- Quality of Games: 8,000+ real money games from industry-leading providers such as NetEnt, Evolution, Microgaming, Habanero and Jumpman
- Quality of Bonuses and Promotions: 100% extra on first deposit + 200 Free Spins; reload bonuses, cashback, free bets, rakeback and free spins rewards. Featuring low wagering requirements
- Payment Methods and Banking Experience: Instant deposits, fast payouts, plenty of payment methods including credit cards, debit cards, trending digital wallet currencies, FundID and Interac
- Online Security: Uses military-grade encryption, has a dedicated online security team, secured servers, no history of data leaks or breaches
- Mobile Experience: Offers an HTML5-powered mobile website available on all browsers, runs on Android and iOS flawlessly
- Quality of Sportsbook: Offers over 35 sports and esports with high odds and exclusive bonuses such as free bets, deposit bonuses, reload bonuses and cashback
- KYC: Easy to fulfill KYC procedures, no requirement to complete KYC as a new user or to get first withdrawal approved
- Limits for Deposits and Withdrawals: Unlimited limit for deposits and withdrawals up to $10,000 per day. The casino can increase the limits for high rollers
- Customer Support Service: Available via live chat, email and phone. Fast answer time and professional customer support team
The team expressed their happiness in finding an online casino which can offer Canadian players and bettors the online betting and gambling experience they deserved: “RoboCat scores high in all the areas that matter, offering an outstanding, exciting, safe and fair experience”.
All players interested in joining RoboCat to play 8,000+ real money games can sign up today and claim an exclusive welcome bonus offer:
CLAIM YOUR WELCOME BONUS AND PLAY 8,000+ GAMES AT ROBOCAT CASINO
RoboCat Casino Actively Promotes and Enforces Responsible Gambling
The team explained that they considered the commitment to responsible gambling as an important factor in their comprehensive review of the industry: “A platform can deliver everything players want, but if they fail to protect players and promote responsible gambling, we take it out of our ranking… because gambling must be fun but also safe”.
RoboCat Casino is equipped with technology and a dedicated team which can detect problematic gambling patterns, providing affected players with prompt solutions and assistance.
The online casino also offers tools and features to limit the spending on their platform, granting players the possibility to control their online gambling activities.
The specialists also confirmed that RoboCat Casino provides a self-exclusion feature, with 24/7 customer support available to assist players in closing their accounts if needed.
“The era of unregulated online gambling is over. Today, safety comes first—one of the key reasons we chose RoboCat as Canada’s top online casino for 2025. They prioritise player protection and take responsible gambling seriously.”
“RoboCat Is The Best Brand in 2025, But Let’s See If They Retain Their Place in 2026”
“After making this in-depth review, analysis and research, we found out RoboCat is the best online casino brand for Canadian players in 2025” – “… but you know, the online gambling industry is extremely fast-paced. You have new brands every single month, and they’re competing fiercely against each other. Therefore, we are going to revisit our research and perform a new analysis in 2026, to see if RoboCat remains the best online casino in Canada or if another brand is going to take its place” – concluded Angel K.
To celebrate this award, RoboCat has released a new welcome bonus of 100% extra on the first deposit + 200 Free Spins + 1 surprise bonus, which new players can redeem below:
CLAIM YOUR WELCOME BONUS AND PLAY 8,000+ GAMES AT ROBOCAT CASINO
- Live Chat: https://casinos.cc/robocat-casino/support/
- Email: [email protected]
Disclaimer
This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, a commission may be earned at no additional cost to you. The information provided is for informational purposes only and is not investment, financial, medical, or legal advice. Readers should verify details independently and consult qualified professionals before making any purchasing or financial decisions
CONTACT: Live Chat: https://casinos.cc/robocat-casino/support/ Email: [email protected]
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